Academic Policies

Applied Psychology Courses Fall 2007

Registration Instructions and Course Schedule (PDF 120KB)

COURSE ADDED

PY 565
Religious Issues In Counseling and Therapy
Cultural competence for counselors and therapists must include an orientation to and understanding of diverse religious and spiritual perspectives. Individuals’ and families’ religious and spiritual orientations offer challenges and opportunities for the counselors and therapists committed to helping them. This workshop will offer a basic orientation to three major religions prevalent in our society. Similarities and differences in world view, practices and beliefs will be examined in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and strategies for including and addressing religious issues in the therapeutic context will be examined.
Section A: John Van Ness, Rhonda Shapiro Riesser, Margaret Camparetta Robbins-Coburn, Richard Anas Coburn Time: Saturday & Sunday, December 8 & 9, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Maximum: 24 Credits: 1

This course will provide both the theoretical foundation and practical experience necessary to understand and foster career/life development in individual and group counseling settings. Topics include career and developmental theories; the elements and evaluation of life careers; administration and interpretation of career-related assessment instruments; needs of diverse populations; and definition of the role, ethics and professional identity within the field of career development.

This course will familiarize students with the goals of best practices assessment: specific referral questions; identification of strengths and challenges; identification of factors that enhance or hinder performance; meaningful and functional recommendations.

Male clients present a unique challenge to the psychotherapist. Men are socialized to fear core components of the therapeutic process: the language of feelings, the disclosure of vulnerability, and the admission of dependency needs. Male psychic pain is not always obvious, manifesting in the forms of addiction, violence, interpersonal conflict, isolation, depression and anxiety. This course will help students understand the damaging impact of male socialization, the problems men are likely to present in therapeutic environments, and the special skills and treatment modalities most effective in making progress with male clients.

PY 648A
Couples Therapy from a Systemic Perspective
Competency Area: Social Systems Assessment & Intervention Strategies
Required of and Restricted to MFT II students.
Special written permission attached to or on registration form is required for CP II students to enroll as a PYC equivalent.
Prerequisite: Completion of MFT I courses.

This course will introduce students to a range of models for working with couples, with a focus on empirically validated therapies. Students will be introduced to theoretical foundations underlying clinical work with couples as well as research on couple dynamics and power. Students will also have the opportunity to explore current issues in couple therapy.

PY 558B
Dance/Movement Therapy with Children & Adolescents
Competency Area: Behavioral Science Foundations
Required of and Restricted to DMT II students.
Written permission attached to or on registration form is required for CP II students to enroll as PYC equivalent.

This course will present a theoretical and experiential exploration of several specific areas of child, adolescent and family development, examining how each area is interrelated and interdependent. Attention will be given to dance/movement therapy approaches with specialized populations of children, adolescents and families in a variety of settings and larger systems.

This course is a comprehensive overview of educational methodologies that integrate cognitive and behavioral theory within a developmental framework, to encourage practical application within preschool and elementary classroom settings. Emphasis is placed on direct teaching methods, materials and modifications and the collaboration with allied health providers such as Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Services and Psychology.

PY 580
Expressive Arts Therapy I
Competency Area: Individual Assessment & Intervention Strategies
Required of and Priority to DMT II students; open to CP II and (CP)SAAC II students as a PYC equivalent; others by written permission of Program Director attached to or on registration form.
Prerequisite: Completion of CP I or DMT I courses.

This course focuses on the clinical use of creativity and imagination through the arts (body-movement, drama, art, poetry, journaling, music, sound and sand play) for assessment, counseling and transformation. Individual and group work with diverse developmental and diagnostic populations will be addressed. Multiple theoretical frameworks are woven together and applied through an actively experiential approach.

PYC 667
Family Approaches to Counseling Children & Adolescents
Competency Area: Social Systems Assessment & Intervention Strategies
Restricted to CP II and (CP) SAAC II students; others by written permission of Program Director attached to or on registration form.
Prerequisite: Completion of CP I courses and CP I practicum/internship

This course is designed to introduce the student to the theory and practice of marriage/relationship/family counseling with an emphasis on families in which the child or adolescent is the identified client. Marriage/relationship/family therapy approaches and effective models of adolescent and child treatment within the family context will be addressed, integrating models of child and family development and methods for working with larger systems, such as schools and social services.

Maximum Decreased PY 590A
Fundamentals of Therapeutic Interaction
Competency Area: Individual Assessment & Intervention Strategies
Required of and Restricted to DMT I and Fall 2007 entering CMHC I, (CMHC) SAAC I students; others by written permission of Program Director attached to or on registration form.

This course is designed to help the beginning mental health professional acquire fundamental counseling skills. Theoretical approaches, including cognitive behavioral, systemic, humanistic, relational, and psychodynamic, will be introduced. Topics include counselor roles and ethics, the dimensions of contemporary mental health practice, and the multicultural counseling perspective. Students will also explore the particular interpersonal dynamics of helping relationships and develop self-in-role awareness. The course balances theory and practical learning through in-class counseling practice.

PYG 603
Group Approaches to Mental Health Counseling
Competency Area: Group & Social Systems Assessment & Intervention Strategies
Required of and Restricted to CMHC II students; others by written permission of Program Director attached to or on registration form.
Prerequisite: PY 590A, Fundamentals of Therapeutic Interaction

This course is designed to help students gain a solid theoretical and practical knowledge of group dynamics, group development, and group leadership styles. Students will learn to observe and understand group process on a variety of levels. The course will give students the opportunity to practice group facilitation and will prepare them to work in various types of groups. The course will balance presentation, discussions and experiential learning in a group culture. The course includes 10 hours of small group experience.

PYB 505
Human Development and Diversity
Competency Area: Behavioral Science
Required of and Restricted to DMT I and Fall 2007 entering CMHC I, (CMHC) SAAC I students; others by written permission of Program Director attached to or on registration form.

This course will provide an overview of human development throughout the lifetime in the family, social and cultural context. The individual and family life cycles will be viewed as mutually interactive processes which are also affected by such factors as biology/genetics, gender, race, ethnicity, acculturation, religion, etc. The development of the individual will be traced chronologically through a survey of a select number of major theoretical approaches. The family and other factors influencing and generated by the individualÃ•s developmental tasks will be explored concurrently.

PYI 518
Human Sexuality and Sex Therapy
Competency Area: Individual Assessment & Intervention Strategies
Restricted to MFT II students. Special written permission attached to or on registration form is required for CP II students to enroll as a PYC equivalent.
Prerequisite: Completion of MFT I courses.

While systems thinking has greatly impacted couples treatment, it has only been given lip service in the field of sex therapy until the work of David Schnarch. This 3-credit course is especially designed to help systems-oriented students move beyond a homework assignment mentality of traditional sex therapy. The course begins with a review of human sexual development and sexual response. The course covers many different aspects of sexuality including: biological, developmental, medical, cultural, historical, and interpersonal. Students will be encouraged to use the knowledge gained in order to better understand their own feelings and attitudes related to sexuality and how those attitudes and feelings influence their beliefs about and therapeutic work with individuals, couples, and families. Students will also be introduced to Schnarch’s approach related to couples work. No previous training in sex therapy is required. Students will be invited to examine their own attitudinal framework regarding these ideas, but disclosing intimate details about ones own sexuality is not required.

PYC 626
Integrative Approaches to Addictions Counseling
Required of and Priority to CP/SA/AC II students.
Restricted to CP & SA/AC II students; others by written permission of Program Director attached to or on registration form.
Prerequisite: Completion of CP I courses and internship

This course is designed to prepare students for work with clients who present with substance abuse or other addictive disorders. Students will address the process of change that occurs in the range of substance use issues from abuse to addiction and recovery. The course focuses on the development of skills in motivational interviewing, harm reduction and cognitive behavioral approaches to substance abuse and pays special attention to short term interventions and treatments. This course will be geared to students who have prior knowledge, experience and/or training in addictions counseling. Non-SA/AC students are welcome but should have taken PY 572 Theories of Addiction or its equivalent.

This course will familiarize students with past and current demographics and definitions of autism spectrum disorders. Students will be introduced to the current biomedical finds associated with autism spectrum disorders as well as several theoretical explanations of autism. Course content will include an overview of conventional and alternative treatment approaches as they apply to the learning and behavioral characteristics of children with autism.

Counseling children and adults with Aspergers presents a unique set of problems due to differences in how these individuals process information and respond to therapeutic interactions. These courses will review both the theory and practice of psychotherapy interventions that account for these differences. The overarching theme involves taking advantage of ASD individuals unique capabilities, including intellectual analysis, visual thinking, and special interests. Case studies will focus on success stories in psychotherapy.

PYC 638
Mind-Body Approaches to Mental Health Counseling
Restricted to CP II and SA/AC II students; others by written permission of Program Director attached to or on registration form.
Prerequisite: Completion of CP I courses and internship.

This course explores the application of the principles of mind-body psychology, and mindfulness meditation to the practice of mental health counseling. Theoretical knowledge in the areas of state dependent memory and psychoneuroimmunology will be accompanied by training through visualization, music, art and hypnosis. The course provides a knowledge and experience base in a developing area, providing short-term treatment in major medical centers and other settings. One half hour daily meditation practice is required. Some knowledge of physiology and mind-body therapies (bio-energetics, polarity therapy, hypnosis, etc.) is helpful but not required.

This course is an intensive study in multicultural counseling in a variety of field settings and is focused on increasing multicultural counseling competencies. Students may select settings and design activities under faculty supervision.

PY 576
Postmodern Approaches to Family Therapy
(formerly Survey of Marriage and Family Therapy Models)
Competency area: Behavioral Science Foundations
Required of and priority to MFT I students; open to CP & SA/AC II students as PYC equivalent.
Prerequisite: PY 642B, Foundational Theories of Marriage and Family Therapy

This course builds upon the Foundational Theories course by extending learning to postmodern approaches to MFT practice. Theoretical foundations of social constructionism and constructivism will be covered, leading into in-depth coverage of postmodern models of MFT, such as solution-focused, narrative, and language-systems-based approaches. Issues of social justice will be emphasized as a basis for critique of each model.

PYP 691
Practicum in Dance/Movement Therapy I
Required of and Restricted to DMT I students.

Practicum in Dance/Movement Therapy provides students with an opportunity to observe, co-lead and lead groups in clinical or educational settings. DMT sessions are led and supervised by practicing dance/movement therapists. Learning to identify group and individual interventions and applying theoretical learning from other courses are prime goals of the course.

PYD 601
Professional Orientation and Ethics
Competency Area: Professional Identity
Required of and Restricted to CMHC I and (CMHC) SA/AC I fall 2007 entering students.

This course provides an introduction to the field of mental health counseling. It will include topics such as the history and current status of the profession, professional organizations and credentialing, the roles and functions of the mental health counselor, including advocacy for the profession. The role of the counselor as a social change agent and advocate for social justice will be emphasized. A major portion of the course is the study of ethical practice, which will cover AMHCA and ACA codes and standards, as well as legal issues in counseling practice. In addition, use of technology in counseling, and professional writing and communication standards will be covered.

PY 686
Professional Seminar in Counseling I (Sections A & B)
Emphasis: Ethics
PYP 695
Practicum in Counseling I (Sections A & B)
Sections A & B: Required of and Restricted to DMT II students.

The Professional Seminar will focus on the ethical standards and legal issues related to clinical practice. Students will become familiar with the American Counseling Association Code of Ethical Standards, the ADTA Code of Ethics and the various statutory requirements that impact on the work with clients. The student will be able to recognize the ethical principles and legal issues related to the counselor role and to utilize this knowledge in their work with clients and colleagues. The student will be able to make case formulations and diagnostic statements, to demonstrate skills in treatment planning and to identify strategies for clinical interventions with clients and systems. The seminar also provides a vehicle for integrating internship experiences, conceptual material, and one’s personal style and development as a mental health professional.

Concurrently with the Professional Seminar, DMT II students must do a practicum/internship totaling 450 hours over the course of the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 semesters at an approved site. Please see the Department of Applied Psychology Handbook for guidelines.

The Professional Seminar will focus on the helping relationship. Factors which influence the counseling relationship, such as ethical and legal issues, and the effective use of supervision, will be examined as well as the development of the skills, behaviors and attitudes of a professional counselor. The seminar will also provide a vehicle for integrating practicum experiences with academic learning and for the development of self-in-role skills as students begin to develop their personal models of counseling. The course includes a component of individual supervision by program faculty for students in practica. This will supplement, but not replace, on-site supervision by clinical staff.

Concurrently with the Professional Seminar, students must do a practicum/internship at an approved site totaling 600 hours over the course of the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 semesters. Please see the Department of Applied Psychology Handbook for specific guidelines. Students who are interested in concentrating in substance abuse counseling may do their practicum and internship in this area this year.

This course provides an overview of the current contexts of mental health practice. Selected topics will include, role of the mental health counselor in contemporary practice settings, multicultural issues, standards of ethical practice, and theories and practices of consultation. Students will have an opportunity to integrate their current internship experiences with their theoretical learning and to develop skills in peer supervision and consultation.

Concurrently with the Professional Seminar, CP II students must do an internship, totaling 600 hours over the course of the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 semesters, at an approved site. Students concentrating in CP/SA/AC are reminded that they must complete an internship in an addictions counseling placement if they did not do so during their CP I year. Please see the Department of Applied Psychology Handbook for internship guidelines. Students are advised to check their state licensure regulations pertaining to internship requirements.

PY 680A
Professional Seminar in Dance/Movement Therapy I
Emphasis: The Helping Relationship
Required of and Restricted to DMT I students.

This course will introduce the student to the theory and practice of dance/movement therapy, using the approaches developed by the pioneers of the field to elucidate the foundations of the profession. It will provide a forum to discuss the interplay of personal and professional issues that arise in becoming therapists, and will provide support as students integrate practicum material, core D/MT concepts, and peer-group entry experiences.

PY 686A
Professional Seminar in Marriage & Family Therapy I
PY 697
Practicum in Marriage & Family Therapy I
Restricted to MFT I students.

The Professional Seminar represents a combination of academically based supervision and a course in which students are aided in the development of their identity as marriage and family therapists by examining issues that arise in relation to the concurrent practicum or internship experience. The purpose of the first Professional Seminar is to aid students in their transition to the graduate program, to help them integrate academic coursework with the practice of systems therapy, to monitor their progress as they begin the practicum experience and to introduce students to the notion of the ongoing process of examining oneself in the role of marriage and family therapist. This semester of the Professional Seminar will continue to familiarize students with the AAMFT Code of Ethics as a follow-up to the summer introduction course.

PY 688B
Professional Seminar in Marriage & Family Therapy IV
PY 698
Internship in MFT
Required of and Restricted to MFT II students.

Students will identify models of family therapy that fit conceptually with their chosen theoretical lens and with how they believe change happens in therapy. They will work on multiple levels to increase their understanding of and implementation of their chosen theories and models so that they may become more proficient in them. This semester’s course will also focus on the study of the student’s family of origin and its effect on the work of the therapist.

PYB 502
Psychomotor Assessment of Children
Competency Area: Behavioral Science Foundations
Required of and Restricted to DMT I students; others by written permission of Program Director attached to or on registration form.

This course will provide students with an overview of the theoretical, historical and cultural bases for assessment. Students will become familiar with the basic principles of psychological, nonverbal, and behavioral observation, assessment and analysis for use in diagnosis, treatment planning and intervention applicable with child populations. Ethical standards, issues related to age, gender, ethnicity, culture, language, and disabilities as they pertain to testing and assessment, will be covered. Students will learn procedures for nonverbal assessment, with a focus on the Kestenberg Movement Profile, and will be exposed to other tests and instruments for psychological, environmental and performance assessment. Students will be introduced to reliability, validity and statistical concepts and standards. They will learn the applications of these assessment tools in clinical diagnosis and treatment of children, for individuals and groups.

PY 656
Psychopathology & the Assessment of Social Systems
Competency Area: Behavioral Science & Social Systems Assessment & Interventions Strategies; COAMFTE Area II: Clinical Knowledge
Required of and Restricted to MFT I students; others by written permission of the Instructor attached to or on registration form.
Prerequisites: PYD 600 Ethics and Professional Development in MFT Practice, PY 642B Foundational Theories of Marriage & Family Therapy and concurrent enrollment in PY 576 Postmodern Approaches to Family Therapy.

This course will instruct students in the theory, methods and research of clinical systems assessment of psychopathology and multiaxial diagnosis. This course will review interventions, including relational psychotherapeutic and chemical, for several of the major diagnostic categories. Students will learn to perform individual, relational, and larger systems assessments, including but not limited to a mental status exam, a medical genogram, and diagnosis using the DSM-IV TR.

PYB 506
Psychopathology: An Ecological Approach
Competency Area: Behavioral Science Foundation
Prerequisite: PY 590A, Fundamentals of Therapeutic Interaction
Required of and Restricted to CMCH/SAAC II and DMT II students; others by written permission of Program Director attached to or on registration form.

This course addresses individual psychopathology from a variety of perspectives: biological, developmental, cultural and interactional. It will provide students with a broad theoretical base for understanding psychopathology from not only an individual descriptive symptomologic perspective as presented in the DSM-IV, but also from a contextual, systemic perspective, including developmental hallmarks, familial patterns, biological factors and socio-cultural contributors.

In this workshop, students will learn differential diagnosis and treatment of eating/weight disorders within an individual psychotherapy model. Learning will occur through didactic presentations, case presentations, experiential exercises, and class discussion. The influence of culture and media on eating disorders will be addressed as well as issues concerning the stigmatization of obesity. Family, dance/movement, and 12-step techniques will not be formally addressed but are welcome in discussion.

This weekend course will focus on the clinical uses of psychotropic medications in the treatment of affective disorders, psychotic disorders and anxiety disorders. The mechanisms by which abused substances affect the body and drugs used in the treatment of substance abuse disorders will also be covered. The basic biology underlying these disorders will be presented as part of the discussion of the therapeutic mechanisms of drug action.

This course will introduce students to the theoretical underpinnings of sensory integration as related to students on the autistic spectrum. The course will focus on current research and theoretical application for understanding sensory regulation, integration and praxis. Using a sensory-processing disorder taxonomy, and behavioral typologies, students will gain an understanding of how evaluation information can add clarification to behavioral challenges.

PYG 608
Social & Cultural Diversity in Dance/Movement Therapy
Competency Area: Group Assessment & Intervention Strategies
Required of and Restricted to DMT I students; others by written permission of the Program Director attached to or on registration form.

This course will expose students to issues of ethnicity, race, gender, socioeconomic status, culture, sexual orientation, physical/psychological ability, religion, age, etc, as these relate to their development as dance/movement therapists. Students will explore their own attitudes and beliefs through experiential exercises, and small-and large-group discussions. Through discussions of texts, novels, films and lectures, students will learn about historical contexts and contemporary concerns of diverse groups. In order to provide a foundation for competent and ethical practice, students will examine strategies for working professionally with individuals, groups and diverse populations.

If you are planning an independent study, please register for an SIS on your registration form; however, an SIS contract must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by December 1, 2007 in order for it to appear on your schedule or transcript. Please be sure to specify on the contract if the SIS will be used to fulfill a competency area or serve as a required course substitute, or as an elective. Contracts received after the December 1st deadline will be returned to you for registration in a subsequent semester (additional costs may apply). Credits will not appear on your schedule until the SIS contract(s) has been submitted to the Registrar’s Office, thus affecting your enrollment status and perhaps your financial aid eligibility.

Credits: variable

Restriction Changed

PYC 609
Systemic Approaches to Mental Health Counseling
Competency Area: Social Systems Assessment & Intervention Strategies
Restricted to CP II/SAAC II students; others by written permission of Program Director attached to or on registration form

This course will introduce the mental health counseling student to the theories and practices of family and relationship counseling. It will include an understanding of the underlying structures and dynamics of systems, major theories and models, systemic assessment, techniques for intervention, and application in the context of individual and family mental health counseling.

This course will serve as a basic introduction to the psychopathology of substance abuse and addiction. The class will examine various theories, which seek to define addiction, discuss diagnosis and assessment of chemical dependency, and explore stages of treatment and different treatment modalities. The program of Alcoholics Anonymous will be analyzed as a generic model of 12-step programs. Other self-help formats will be identified and described.

PYI 542
Training in the Social Use of Language
Competency Area: Individual Assessment and Intervention Strategies
Required of and Restricted to ASD Certificate students.

This course will focus on the needs of persons with ASD who are verbal and are self-initiating language. Participants will learn to teach the skills of social communication or pragmatic language so that students/clients can use language in context more appropriately. The three major deficits that affect language use, Theory of Mind, Central Coherence, and Executive Function, will be explored. The following goals for treatment will be presented along with implementation strategies: the learning of conversation and listening hierarchies, personal narrative skills, and verbally mediated problem solving using ‘self-talk’.

This course focuses on the development of professional writing skills. It begins with a discussion of successful writing habits, continues with an overview of basic writing skills and ends with more advanced skills, such as writing logical, well-organized papers. The course also covers APA writing standards for professional reports and papers. Students will immediately apply new skills using hands-on exercises.